


Hold Your Breath

by lilithlovesgays



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Childhood Friends, Childhood Memories, Cursed!Harry, Fake Happenings, M/M, Magic AU, WARNING: very fluffy, childhood AU, real places, they grow up
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-07-22
Updated: 2014-10-06
Packaged: 2018-02-09 01:22:04
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 11,087
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1963665
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lilithlovesgays/pseuds/lilithlovesgays
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Isle of Man, a small island right smack in the middle of the Irish sea separating Ireland and the United Kingdom, has always been rumored to have magic. The inhabitants will tell you stories of small goblins who steal your socks at night, or the beautiful maidens with gills on their necks that live in the lakes. Some of the stories are true and most are not, but there are very few families who really know the truth of their home.</p><p>In which Louis and Harry grew up together as close as two friends could be and they plan to keep it that way for the rest of their lives... Maybe.<br/>Especially since Harry has a secret that could get him into dangerous situations.</p><p> </p><p>Very, VERY loosely based on Ella Enchanted.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Best Friends Forever?

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Chrissymay](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chrissymay/gifts).



Furman Close was a long street, shaped much like the claw of a crab, in the city of Onchan on the Southeast side of the Isle of Man. The street was a quieter one than others in the area, but it wouldn't stay that way for long. It was close to a big park wear there was a beautiful lake, in which the people of the neighborhood loved to go swimming and boating during the summer. There was also a stable where you could rent horses and ride on the egg-shaped trail or on a trail through the trees. The area was beautiful, every street had mini forests where trees had grown close together with their branches linked like lovers' hands. It was a perfect place to raise children, so when Jay Tomlinson bought a large, two-story house at the end of Furman Close, she knew her children would be happy there. She signed the papers, and a week later, they were moving in. A tall woman with brown hair and eyes who carried a newborn wrapped tightly in a blanket was followed closely by a 4 year old girl with bright blonde hair and a 10 year old boy with brown hair, but with dazzling blue eyes.

Up in a tree 3 houses down, a 9 year old boy with bouncy chocolate curls and green eyes watched his new neighbors as they unpacked their van with help from the movers. He was crouching on his feet and hands, much like a cat, as he studied the boy carrying a box. The blue-eyed boy's eyebrows were furrowed and his tongue poked out between his thin lips as he determinedly carried the cardboard box into the front door of his new house. The boy in the tree was fascinated by the other boy's determination and copied the face he had been making. Maybe there was something about the stuck-out tongue and furrowed brows that helped the other boy concentrate?

"Harry! What are you doing?"

The boy- Harry- instantly stopped his imitation of the silly face and turned to look down, "Nothing, mum! Just watching the new people move in."

Anne smiled and held out her arms to catch Harry as he jumped from the tree with a squeal, "Why don't you see if they need help?"

Harry pouted, "But _muuum,_ they're strangers! Stranger danger! Just get Gemma to do it!" _  
_

Gemma was Harry's older sister by 3 years, even though she acted like she was much older. They were best friends even when sometimes Gem refused to play with Harry because he was 'being a baby'.

"You know Gemma is at her friend's house. Come on, scared-y cat,"Anne poked Harry's cheek and motioned for him to follow. "Come introduce yourself."

Harry felt that familiar tingle go up his spine, making him straighten his back immediately and walk towards the house against his will. He grumbled, as he followed his mother to the van where Jay was cradling the newborn while giving orders to the movers. She wiped a rag across her glistening forehead with a sigh before she saw Harry and his mother walk up.

"Oh, hello! Do you live around here?" she asked. Harry liked that she pointed her question to him as well. Even though he would let his mother answer, he loved the attention. Harry liked this woman, instantly.

"Yes, just 3 houses down. I'm Anne Cox," Anne said, shaking Jay's hand.

"Jay Tomlinson," Jay said and gestured to the bundle in her arms. "And this is Felicite. Lovely to meet you!"

"I'm Harry Styles," Harry looked up, putting on his biggest smile (the one he knew showed off his dimples) for Jay who was smiling back, warmly down at him. "I'm 9."

"Nice to meet you, Harry!" Jay raised her eyebrows at Anne in question, but continued talking to Harry. "My son, Louis, just turned 10! Maybe you two can be friends!"

Harry remembered the boy with the determined face and nodded eagerly, eliciting a chuckle from both women.

"I just got remarried, but Harry kept his father's last name," Anne explained. Anne had been married to Des Styles until they divorced when Harry was 5. The split was much harder on Gemma than it was on Harry as he didn't quite understand relationships and love yet.

His first encounter with true, unconditional love was when he accidentally spilled water all over Gemma's new cell phone, ruining it. Gemma was furious with Harry for days, despite the fact that Anne had promised to buy her a new one. Harry had heard the word "hate" before and he was certain that it was the look Gemma gave him every time he tried to apologize. One day, he begged her not to hate him anymore and she gasped, pulling him to her chest saying, "Harry! I could never, ever hate you! I would still love you even if you burned the house down! When you love someone like that, it never goes away."

"Actually," Anne said, making Harry blink. He'd stopped paying attention. "We came over to see if you needed any help..?"

"Oh, that's sweet! We do have a few more smaller boxes you can take in while the movers un-pack the furniture," Jay blushed, suddenly. "That is, if you don't mind?"

"Of course not!" Anne smiled, warmly, and Harry thought she should speak for herself. 

Harry followed his mother and Jay to a pile of boxes by the side of the house. He heard his mother invite Jay and her kids to dinner that night and pouted. He did like to meet new people, but that didn't mean they should get to come and eat his food! Jay asked him, kindly, to pick up the box that said "Louis' Clothes" in big, sloppy letters across the side and take it up the stairs to the door on the right. Huffing, Harry picked it up with a little difficulty (how were clothes so heavy??) and started to walk towards the door when he remembered 'the determined face'. Concentrating hard, he stuck out his little tongue and continued on, convinced that the face was making it much easier to carry the box. After tripping a few times on the stairs, he kicked open the door on his right and saw the boy with brown hair sitting on the floor, surrounded by boxes. In the boy's hands were the red and black Power Rangers, the two that happened to be Harry's absolute favorites.

"Woah! You have the red Power Ranger?" Harry asked, excitedly.

The boy jumped up, startled, and stared at Harry with his blue eyes. Harry noticed that the boy was a bit taller than he was, but he was skinnier and seemed to Harry like he got hurt very easily. The boy looked at Harry like he was a queen looking down at a servant.

"Put my box down," the boy ordered.

The tingling ran up Harry's spine once again and he dropped the box on the floor, immediately. The boy looked surprised at the sudden obedience, but he soon smiled widely and held out his hand for Harry to take.

"I'm Louis," he said, the corners of his eyes crinkling, happily.

"Harry..." Harry was looking at Louis' face intently, ignoring his hand. Louis' hair was brown, but in the light streaming from the window it looked almost golden and he had the bluest eyes Harry had ever seen.  _Louis looks like a fairy,_ Harry thought as he looked at the other boy's thin body and slightly pointed nose.

"Hey!" Louis snapped his fingers in front of Harry's face, making him blink rapidly. "Shake my hand!"

Harry felt the tingle and lunged his arm forward, grasping Louis' smaller hand, tightly. Louis was surprised by Harry's suddenness and he narrowed his eyes.

"Drop my hand," Louis said and Harry obeyed, quickly. "Spin in circles."

And Harry did. Louis was in awe. Usually when he bossed people around, they didn't listen to him or they reprimanded him for being rude. But here was Harry with his very green eyes and his dimply smile and he was doing everything Louis told him without hesitation.

"Y-You can stop," Louis said, hesitantly, but harry kept going with a small whimper. "Stop!"

Harry stopped spinning, instantaneously, but he was stumbling around from dizziness and was having trouble standing straight. He let out a squeak as he felt himself start to fall, but then Louis was there and he caught him. Harry blinked hard a couple of times to stop the room from spinning. Louis held on to Harry tightly, looking at him like he had grown a third head that breathed fire.

It was a miracle that someone finally listened to him, yet Louis' mouth curled into a tiny snarl.

"Why do you do that? Did my mom tell you to?" Louis asked, suddenly afraid this was one of the weird tests that his mother made him do every so often. Last time she had let him eat a whole bag of gummy worms and then explained how that was a mistake as he was throwing up into the toilet. She was a good mother, but sometimes she had weird teaching methods.

Harry, however, shook his head, making his curls bounce around his face, "No... I have to do it."

Louis hopped on his bed and patted the spot next to him, looking at Harry with a small smile. Louis knew he had to teach this poor boy the wonders of tantrums, a practice Louis was a master in. When Harry settled with his legs crossed, Louis put his hands on shoulders like his mom did when she was being very serious with him.

"Harry. I'm going to tell you a secret because we're friends now," Louis looked into Harry's wide, green eyes as he nodded. "You don't have to do everything people tell you. You have to do everything I tell you, but that's because I know a lot of things."

Harry looked at Louis, distressed. His mother had told him when he was younger that he was absolutely  _not_ allowed to tell anyone about his secret... but Louis just said they were friends and Harry didn't have a lot of those.

"Actually, I do have to," Harry said, putting his own hands on Louis' small shoulders as he lowered his voice dramatically. "Because I'm cursed."

Louis looked quizzical, but Harry was making the most serious face he could and it made Louis' eyes widen. "Really?"

"Really!" Harry exclaimed, relieved at finally being able to talk to someone new about it. Harry described to Louis about the fairy that had come into his room 3 days after he was born to give him a gift. Harry's mom had been startled, but was curious as to what the fairy had to offer. The fairy had cradled baby Harry tenderly, but Harry had started to cry, which angered the fairy. The fairy kept telling baby Harry to be quiet and stop crying, but Harry kept on wailing in the fairy's arms. So, the clever fairy gave Harry the "gift" of unquestionable obedience. Harry's mother begged her to take it back, but the fairy said that she would thank her; that she was doing Harry's mother a favor.  "My mum searched for the fairy, but she had no idea where to find her. And she said the other fairies couldn't help her because the only one who can undo the curse is the fairy who gave it to me."

Harry and Louis sat for a while, their hands on each other's shoulders, as Louis processed the crazy story.

After a while, Louis stuttered, "I-Is that all true?"

Harry nodded earnestly, "Just ask my mum, she'll tell you! But you can't tell anyone... except maybe your mum and sister as long as they don't tell anyone..."

Suddenly, Harry was engulfed by Louis' arms in a big hug. Harry smiled so wide that his cheeks hurt as he returned the hug.

"I'm sorry you're cursed," Louis said as he held Harry closer. Neither would say it, but they both desperately loved hugs.

"S'okay, Lou," Harry mumbled, blushing slightly at the accidental nickname. "Not your fault."

Louis pulled away and set his hands back on Harry's shoulders. "Harry, I promise when we're older that I will find the fairy who did this to you and we will make them take it back, ok?"

Harry blinked. "Really?"

Louis held out his pinky finger and Harry hooked it with his own, smiling. He knew how serious Louis was because no one _ever_ breaks a pinky-promise.

"We're best friends now, right?" Louis asked, keeping their pinkies attatched.

Harry nodded and smiled, "Best friends forever?"

Louis pushed Harry over, playfully, and grabbed his Power Rangers from the floor. He handed the red one to Harry who took it with wide eyes and an even wider smile.

"Forever and ever!"


	2. School Sucks

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Harry and Louis are 2 months away from high school graduation and they, as well as their friends, are sending out college applications.

A warm breeze picked up and blew through the new green trees as spring slowly turned into summer on the Isle of Man. Blossoming flowers lined the gardens of all the houses on Furman Close and the petals blew off, spiraling in the air as if they were dancing. A few pink petals settled in the brown curls of a tall boy with a backpack on his shoulders who walked down the street with his eyes crinkling in the morning light. He laughed, a deep laugh that made people smile, as he shook out the petals. They floated along in the breeze behind him as he reached the door of a white, two-story house and knocked a small rhythm on the wood. A 13 year old girl opened the door, her bright blonde hair in a side braid and tied with a ribbon. She had grown much since they first moved in here.

"Hi, Harry!" She smiled and let him through the door.

"Morning, Lottie," Harry hugged the girl close. "Where's your brother?"

"Probably still sleeping in his room. I tried getting him up, but he kicked me out," she rolled her eyes. 

"Ugh," Harry groaned as he started up the stairs. "He's gonna make us late again..."

Harry pushed open the door on the right to the familiar room. He'd grown up in this room with Louis, playing with Power Rangers on the carpeted floor and making forts using chairs and sheets where they would hide for hours. The color of the walls had changed every year from red to green to brown to white and finally Louis decided to stick with blue, the same blue as his eyes. Now, Louis was curled in on himself, his light brown hair sticking out everywhere and his eyelids fluttering rapidly. Harry sat softly on the edge of the bed and laughed as Louis snorted in his sleep. They were late already, but Harry took a few stalker-y seconds to watch Louis sleep with his mouth curled into a smile. 

"Lou," he whispered, placing a hand on Louis' hip. "Louis, wake up."

Louis groaned and covered his ears with his hands.

Harry chuckled and dropped his backpack to the floor. He stretched himself out sideways on the bed, facing Louis, and poked the other boy's nose, which crinkled adorably. "Lou, c'mon. Get uuup!"

Louis smiled, "Sorry, Styles, but I don't _have_ to listen to you." His voice was rough from sleep and Harry found it enormously attractive.

"Heeey," Harry whined. "You said you wouldn't tease me."

Louis let out a breath of laughter and opened his eyes. They were slightly glazed, but the blue was still sparkling as his eyes met Harry's a few inches away.

"Oops," Louis said, smiling lazily.

"Hi," Harry breathed, ignoring how his stomach fluttered. "We're late... And your breath smells."

"Oh, sod off, Haz," Louis rolled on his back and yawned, rubbing his eyes. "We can afford to be late."

"Not when you have a Chem test second period," Harry poked Louis side, making him squeal, "Up!"

Louis rolled out of bed and went straight for the toilets as Harry made his way back down stairs to say hello to Jay and the other girls. In the 8 years that the Tomlinson family lived there, Felicite (Fizzy) had grown up to look much like her sister and Jay had popped out twin girls, Daisy and Phoebe, with her now ex-husband.

"That woman has a uterus made of steel," Anne would say.

Harry was instantly tackled by the twins as he entered the kitchen where Lottie and Fizzy were eating breakfast and Jay was buttering toast.

"Good morning, Harry!" Jay said as Harry trudged in with one twin on each ankle. 

"Morning, Jay," Harry kissed her on the cheek. "Morning, Fizz! Say, have you seen Daisy and Phoebe?"

The twins giggled softly and shushed each other as they held tighter to Harry's legs. 

"I think they might be hiding in the kitchen cabinets," Fizzy played along, pointing behind Harry.

"Good thinking!" Harry dragged his feet as he turned around slowly, making sure not to drop the girls. He opened the cabinet, shouting "aha!" followed by an overly dramatic confused face. "Hmm... Not there."

"What'cha looking for, Haz?"

Harry smiled and turned to see Louis, now in proper clothes, standing in the doorway. Harry ambled over to him and put his hands on either side of Louis' face, frowning. "Louis! I've lost your sisters! I don't know where they've gone!"

"Oh no!" Louis cried, putting his smaller hands over Harry's. "What are we gonna do?? I was going to make them cupcakes for their almost-half birthday!"

The girls squealed and jumped up, hugging Louis' legs. "Louis!! We're right here!"

Harry and Louis both picked up a twin, exclaiming that they were the best hide-and-seek players in all the land. Harry hugged Daisy tight, squeezing his eyes shut and when he opened them he saw Louis looking at him, fondly. Louis' eyes darted away and Harry could have sworn he saw a blush color the tan boy's cheeks. 

"Boys! Do you know what time it is?" Jay exclaimed, looking at the clock in horror. "Come on, I'll take you. Lottie, will you get the girls ready, please?"

Harry and Louis followed Jay to her car, thanking her as they took off down the street. The high school was just a few blocks away, so the the trio rode in a comfortable silence. Louis was looking out the window at the passing trees, a soft smile on his face. Harry studied the familiar curve of his mouth and his pointed nose from the backseat. Louis was incredibly beautiful and Harry loved to remind him of that.

"You look nice today, Lou," Harry said, breaking the silence.

Louis snorted and turned around in his seat, "Stop watching me, creep!"

Harry's spine tingled and he turned his head quickly to the left. "Lou," he grumbled.

"Oh shit, sorry Hazza! You can do what you want," Louis stuttered, quickly, and Harry turned his head back, sticking his tongue out at Louis. "Sorry, I forget sometimes... But thank you for the compliment, I mean... Yeah."

Harry laughed as Louis bit his bottom lip, a habit he'd gotten into years ago, "It's fine, babe. You're welcome."

Jay parked the car in front of the school as Louis tried to conceal his blush that had bloomed from the term. Harry loved to make Louis blush and tried to do it as often as he could with as many terms of endearment as he could think of.

"Alright, lovebirds," Jay said, smiling mischievously at the two. "It's time for school."

" _Muuum,_ " Louis grumbled, softly, as he kissed her cheek. "We're not lovebirds..."

"Thank you, Jay," Harry said, ignoring the little stab of disappointment in his gut as he kissed Jay's cheek as well and followed Louis out of the car.

The boys walked side-by-side until they got to the almost empty hall where they separated for their respective classes.

"Good luck on your Chem test, angel face," Harry said, walking to his class on the right.

"Have fun in History, sugar tits," Louis called out after him, walking left.

Both boys entered their classes with the biggest smiles on their faces.

*~*~*~*

"Oi, mate," a dark haired boy with tan skin poked Harry's side with his pencil.

"What, Zayn?" 

"Liam's helping me and Niall study for the Calculus final at his house today, you wanna come?" Harry nodded eagerly; he was absolutely shit at maths, but he needed to pass the exam with at least an 85% to maintain his GPA. "Great, I'll tell Liam. Oh, and bring your boyfriend so he stops asking me for answers."

Harry started to protest that (unfortunately) Louis was not his boyfriend, but the bell rang for lunch and Zayn was running off to find Niall. Harry and Louis had met Liam, Zayn and Niall in secondary school and it was instantly like gaining three brothers. The five were inseparable, especially when Zayn and Niall started dating at the beginning of high school. Now, 3 years later they were closer than ever, both physically and emotionally.

"Harry!"

Louis bounded up to Harry like an over-excited puppy and clapped his hands together, "Haz! Guess what I got on my Chem test!!"

Louis was beaming and Harry smiled down at him. Over the years, Harry had grown to be at least a head taller than Louis, which he liked  _a lot_. "An 85?"

Louis shook his head and motioned for Harry to guess higher, still smiling. "89?" Still he motioned higher. "96?"

"97%! Harry, that means that even if I'm shit on the exam, I still keep my A!" Louis exclaimed, wrapping Harry up in a hug.

"Lou, that's great!" Harry smiled into Louis' hair that smelled like the cucumber shampoo he had in his bathroom. "I'm so proud of you!"

"C'mon," Louis unraveled his arms from around Harry's neck and grabbed his hand instead. "I want to tell the boys. They're at Liam's right?"

Harry nodded and let himself be pulled out through the front doors. As over-achievers, they only had to take four classes a day and were finished with school when lunch came around at 12:30pm, so Harry and Louis walked to Liam's house which was two streets behind the school. Harry walked with his hands in his pockets, looking at the flowers on the side of the road. That was his favorite thing about the Isle of Man: flowers bloomed year-round and they were everywhere. He picked a small yellow daisy from the ground and turned to put it behind Louis' ear. Louis rolled his eyes, but he was smiling.

"You're such a girl, Styles," he said, promptly picking a dozen flowers. "Kneel down."

Harry dropped to his knees immediately with a choked noise as he stared directly at Louis' crotch. "Um, Lou..."

Louis laughed. "Not like this is your first time," he teased, but stepped to the side as he began arranging the flowers into a crown on Harry's head.

Harry came out to Louis in their second year of secondary school as bisexual. He'd been insanely afraid to tell Louis, but he knew he couldn't keep secrets from his best friend. especially since the only big secret he had, Louis already knew. But Louis had accepted him wholeheartedly and Harry was relieved. He told the other boys after and they had the same reactions, which made sense now considering Zayn and Niall were constantly snogging wherever they could.

Harry's vision was blocked by Louis' crotch once again as the smaller boy exclaimed, "Finished!" Harry looked up at Louis, smiling, which made Louis suck in a breath. The sight of Harry kneeling in front of him was making his pants feel suddenly tighter and he choked out, "Let's get to Liam's."

They made it to the red door of the Payne house and Liam answered Harry's rhythmic knock, "Hi, boys! You-"

Liam examined the daisy behind Louis' ear and the crown of flowers in Harry's curls with raised eyebrows. "Zayn!" He called. "You'd better start snogging Niall. Larry's out gay-ing you!"

*~*~*~*

A loud groan escaped Louis' mouth as he dropped the open text book on his face. The boys had been studying for about 3 hours and Louis swore his brain would fry if he had to draw one more graph. Niall had abandoned his text book half an hour before and was spinning in circles in Liam's desk chair while Zayn studied on the desk next to him. Louis had his head in Harry's lap as he and Liam looked up colleges and Uni's for music. Harry was practically a prodigy on piano and Liam's violin skills were insane, not to mention they both had voices of angels. 

Niall stopped spinning and stumbled onto the floor to lay on Harry's legs next to Louis, "Lou! These lads are boring. You wanna pick up some sandwiches?"

Louis lifted the textbook from his face and threw it on Liam's bed, "Hell yes!" 

Niall crowed like Peter Pan as he jumped up, grabbing his car keys. He wrote down Liam and Zayn's orders on a post-it as Louis stood up and stretched. 

"Hey, what about me?" Harry asked as Niall put the post-it in his pocket.

"I already know your order, pumpkin," Louis tugged on one of Harry's curls, making him purr like a cat. "You get the same thing every time."

"Why do you never call me cute names?" Zayn glared at Niall who kissed his cheek, sweetly.

"Love you, douche tit," Niall called as he grabbed Louis' arm and pulled him out the door. "Bye!"

Niall and Louis heard Harry laugh and could  _feel_ Liam rolling his eyes as they walked out to Niall's black Ford Fiesta. As soon as they pulled out of the driveway, Niall turned on the radio and the two boys sang obnoxiously loud along to Iggy's "Fancy", which Louis often claimed as  _his_ song. After about three songs the advertisements started and Niall turned down the volume.

"So," Niall said, stretching out the _'o'_ for a good minute. "Harry really wants to go to UCD."

Louis nodded, slowly. University College Dublin was one of the most prestigious schools in Europe with the best music department in Ireland and it was Harry's dream to go there. He was definitely good enough and had been practicing his audition piece since he was 14. Louis had done his research and found that UCD had a law school whose campus was just five blocks away from the music department. The only problem was that Louis had more of a chance of growing a second head than getting in. It was extremely competitive and even more expensive and Louis' grades were nowhere near good enough for a scholarship. If he was being completely honest with himself, he could care less about the school. His only interest was being as close to Harry as possible. The thought of being far away from Harry made his stomach twist uncomfortably and he pulled his knees up to his chest on the car seat. 

 Niall placed a hand on one of Louis' knees, "Mate, you have to tell him."

Louis blinked. "Tell him what?"

"C'mon, Lou," Niall winked. "It's obvious you want him on top of you 24/7."

Louis choked out a surprised laugh, "Niall! I never- No I don't!"

Niall shrugged, a glint of mischief in his eyes. "My bad. I just assumed... Since you two are always eye-fucking each other. Actually, I made a bet with Zayn. He thinks you top, but I told him Harry's got to have some secret kinks or like a wild side where he just-"

" _Niall_ ," Louis hissed, his eye wide and his heart pounding. He crossed his legs, tightly, and willed himself not to think about Harry. Niall laughed, evilly as he pulled into a parking spot outside the sandwich shop. "I-it's not like that. He's like my brother."

Niall stopped laughing and looked at Louis, concerned. "Don't say that in front of Harry, mate."

"Why?" 

Louis sat in confusion as Niall shook his head and got out of the car, a small frown on his face.

*~*~*~*

Harry laughed at Zayn as he watched Louis leave, his hips swaying. Louis was wearing the jeans that hugged his ass and thighs like they were glued to him and Harry loved to watch Louis walk in them. Harry loved to watch Louis do just about anything, really. Louis was a great person to just sit and admire what he was like, and Harry would tell that to anyone who would listen.

"Oi, lover boy, pay attention," Liam said, pushing Harry's head to the side playfully. Harry's head snapped to the right and he stared at Liam, exasperated. "Whoops, sorry."

"It's fine," Harry replied as he stood. He had told the other boys about his curse in secondary school and at first they had thought it was a joke, but Louis had backed him up. They didn't need anymore convincing. The people on the Isle of Man had reason to believe in magic.

"So,  _pumpkin_ ," Zayn said, narrowing his eyes and smiling. "Are you and Louis..." He made an obscene gesture with his hands and Liam sighed, disapprovingly.

"I have no idea what you mean," Harry smiled, innocently, as he sat next to Liam on the bed.

"You know," Zayn insisted as he sat on the other side of Liam and exchanged a mischievous smile with Harry. "'Doing the nasty'."

"Hmm..." Harry put a finger to his chin and pretended to think as he swung a leg on top of Liam. "Doesn't ring a bell..."

Liam looked extremely uncomfortable squished between Harry and Zayn and he opened his mouth to say so, but Zayn interrupted. "Niall and I do it often! Usually, I take my penis and put it up-"

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!" Liam shouted and covered his ears. "Zayn, please. I support you, but I don't need to know  _anything."_

Zayn and Harry cracked up and the three of them fell back on the bed, staring up at the glow-in-the-dark stars on Liam's ceiling. Harry loved these moments the most and he sighed happily. He never wanted to leave these boys, but he knew that they couldn't all go to the same Uni. Harry thought of Louis and his smile faded. He knew Louis had made out an application to UCD in hopes that the two could stay together, but Louis' chances were slim. There were other colleges they had applied to where they could go, but they both knew it was Harry's dream to go to UCD.

"Jeez, Hazza," Liam smiled and rolled his eyes. "Louis' been gone for 10 minutes and you're already pouting."

Zayn made a whipping gesture with his hand and made the cracking sound with every swipe.

"Oh, knock it off, tossers. I was thinking about Uni."

Liam ruffled Harry's curls as he sat up, "You'll get in, Harry. I know you will."

Harry pressed the heels of his palms into his closed eyes and sighed, "That's what I'm worried about."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, again! Chapter 2 is done and thankfully it's a bit longer than Chapter 1!  
> As I live in America, I have no idea how school systems work in the UK (or near the UK) so, I'm using the system from my own high school. Oops? (Hi) (...sorry)
> 
> As usual, Chapter 3 will be posted 4 days from now!!  
> Let me know what you think!
> 
> -Lily .x


	3. Complications

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Daisy doesn't feel well, Larry have a sleepover, and Harry gets really fed up with his curse.

Daisy was sick. 

As in high-fever-and-throwing-up sick. It was disgusting and Louis couldn't stand being in his house for any longer than he had to, which is how he ended up knocking on the brown door of Harry's house with a backpack full of clothes. A girl with light blue hair that faded into purple answered the door with a smirk.

"Hi, Gem," Louis bit his lip and twisted his right foot inward, shyly. "Is Harry home?"

"Maybe..."  Gemma narrowed her eyes, suspiciously. "Why?"

"My sister is sick and I don't want to catch anything 'cause i have to study and stuff.. for exams?" He looked over Gemma's shoulder, hoping to find Harry, but their living room was empty. "I called him, but he didn't answer, so.. Is it ok if I stay the night?"

Gemma smiled and shrugged, letting Louis walk past her. Louis was constantly confused by Gemma. One day she's in love with him and asks why he doesn't live with them, and the next day she's suspicious of everything he says and questions his actions. Louis assumed she was just protective of Harry because of his curse, but he was never sure. He met Anne on the staircase, her arms full of laundry.

"Louis! How are you?" she smiled warmly as he kissed her cheek.

"Great! Let me help you with those," he insisted, taking half of the clothes from her arms. 

"Thank you, hun. To what do we owe the honor of your presence?" 

He laughed as he followed her into her room. It was set up the same way as his mother's room with the king-size bed in the middle and a beautiful dresser in the corner.

"I was actually wondering if I could spend the night..?" Louis set the clothes on the bed and raked a hand through his hair. "If that's not a problem. Daisy has a fever and I don't want to get sick before exams."

"Of course! You don't even have to ask," Anne placed her hand on his cheek, patting it lightly and smiled. "You practically live here as it is!"

Louis laughed, "True! Do you know if Harry's here?"

"Oh, he's in the shower! He'll be out soon, but go ahead into his room. Dinner is soon," Anne patted Louis' bum as he walked out of the room and down the hall to Harry's room.

Harry painted his room blue, like Louis', but a much darker shade and there were paintings of oceans hung above his bed. Louis dropped his backpack on Harry's desk next to his Mac. Louis traced his finger along the wood of the desk and stopped at a brown picture frame; he smiled as he picked it up. The picture was of him and Harry at Liam's birthday party two years prior. Louis was cradled in Harry's arms bridal-style and both boys were smiling as wide as they could. Louis was wearing a similar smile now as he remembered how easily Harry had swept him off his feet. Literally and metaphorically.

Just then, Harry walked out of his bathroom, shaking out his wet hair in a towel. He was completely naked. It wasn't like Louis had never seen him naked before, (Harry often walked around naked as much as he could) but this time, Louis' stomach twisted and he made a squeaking noise. Harry jumped and looked up, quickly but he smiled when he saw Louis standing next to his desk holding the picture.

"Hey, Lou!" Harry draped his towel over the back of the chair and walked over to his bed where a pair of pants rested. "What are you doing here?"

"I- um.. Can I spend the night? Daisy's sick," Louis stuttered and pretend to look at the photo intently. If he glanced at the gorgeously naked boy a few times, then no one had to know.

"'Course!" Harry slung an arm over Louis' shoulder and leaned his head against Louis', who was slightly glad to see that Harry had put on sweats and a t-shirt. "That was a fun party," Harry plucked the picture from Louis' hands to smile at it fondly.

Louis nodded, regaining his knowledge of proper human motions. "Except for my stupid bowl-shaped haircut."

Harry laughed, loud and deep, as he placed the frame back on his desk. "Yeah, that was pretty bad," he sighed and Louis could hear the smile in his voice.

Suddenly, Louis' feet were off the ground and he was being cradled by two strong arms; one behind his back and the other holding his legs. Louis squealed and wrapped his arms tightly around Harry's neck who was smiling at him. Louis glared up at the taller boy, but Harry's smile only grew wider and fonder.

"You got heavier, Tomlinson," Harry huffed as he pulled Louis closer to his chest.

Louis scoffed in mock-hurt, "Or  _you_ got weaker, Styles." He poked his pointer finger into Harry's chest making the tall boy squirm.

"Not my fault you have an ass the size of Niki Minaj," Harry retorted, pinching Louis' bum in emphasis.

Louis shrieked, pulling himself closer to Harry's chest. "Hey! That's precious cargo, and you are unauthorized to touch!" A voice in the back of his head screamed, _liar!,_ but he ignored it and stuck his nose in the air like royalty. "Now, take me downstairs, slave!"

The tingle ran up Harry's spine like always, but he smiled and he inched carefully down the steps with the beautiful, small boy curled up against his chest.

*~*~*~*

After a short dinner with Gemma and Anne, the boys cuddled up on the couch and played Fifa until it was 1am and their eyes were sore. Louis demanded a piggy-back ride to be and Harry crouched down, wordlessly as Louis crawled up and wrapped his arms around Harry's broad shoulders. Harry started up the stairs and smiled when Louis nuzzled his nose into his curls. Louis became an overly-affectionate cat when he was tired and Harry took every chance to get close to Louis when he was like this. Harry kicked his door open and leaned backwards over the edge of the bed so Louis could drop from his back an onto the soft, white comforter. The tired boy curled up instantly and closed his eye, sighing contently.

"Babe, you can't sleep, yet," Harry said, softly, as he closed his door. "We have to brush our teeth."

"No, we don't,"Louis mumbled, his eyebrows furrowing and his bottom lip sticking out in an adorable pout.

"Yes, we do. You don't want cavities, cutie pie," Harry cooed, pulling Louis off the bed and to his feet. "Remember when you had to have teeth when we were 14?"

"Yeah, yeah, I remember," Louis grumbled as he grabbed his toothbrush from his bag. "Hygiene freak."

The boys brushed their teeth side-by-side in front of the small sink, making faces at each other in the mirror and drooling toothpaste all over. It was disgusting, but Harry felt a surge of joy flow through him as Louis bumped his hip against his. He loved physical contact from people, but with Louis it was different. He was addicted to the feel of Louis' skin against his own and craved the warmth of him. He loved the way Louis fit between his arms perfectly when they hugged and how he could bend the tips of his finger over Louis'. Everything about Louis was small and sunny and Harry was completely enamored by him. 

When they finished brushing, the boys stripped down to their boxers and Louis waited as Harry got extra blankets from his closet.

"Why do you keep it so freezing in here, Haz?" Louis asked, shivering and teeth chattering slightly.

"Because it makes it warmer when you get under the covers," he explained, climbing under the covers and opening them for Louis who dived in without hesitation.

"You're an idiot,"Louis stated, shivering and squirming under the blankets. He turned on his side so he was facing Harry, his hands tucked under his chin. "Can I tell you a secret?"

Harry's eyes widened as he nodded.

"Do you remember my rabbit, Charlie?"

Harry nodded again. Charlie had been a little gray rabbit that the Tomlinsons had taken in off of the streets a week after they moved in. Lottie had adored it, but it shed hair all over the place and Jay detested it. Plus, Harry hadn't been able to come over at all because of his allergies which had made Louis miserable. "The rabbit I was deathly allergic to? The one that ran away?"

Louis bit his lip and smiled, shyly. "Yeah.. he didn't run away. We gave him away."

"Louis!" Harry gasped. 

"My mom was the one who did it! It was just my idea..." Louis explained, but Harry made a disappointed face. "Oh, come on. I did it so you could come over! I like you way more than some dirty rabbit."

Harry blushed in the darkness as he shook his head. "You are something else, Louis Tomlinson. Lottie would never forgive you if she knew."

"Which is why she doesn't know... and never will," Louis shrugged. "It's still cold. C'mere."

Louis pulled Harry towards him so he could wrap an arm and a leg around him, trapping the younger boy in the embrace. Harry laughed in surprise, but quickly relaxed into him, closing his eyes and pressing his forehead against Louis'. He hoped desperately that Louis couldn't hear his heart thumping wildly in his chest at the close contact, but the delicate boy was already breathing deep and slow.

"Goodnight, Louis,"Harry whispered, his lips brushing against the soft skin of Louis' forehead.

Louis mumbled, incoherently, and Harry smiled as he fell asleep with his whole world in his arms.

*~*~*~*

The next morning, the boys woke up right on time and after breakfast they left Harry's house and headed down the street towards school. It was a beautiful, warm day with wispy clouds trailing across the sky. Harry and Louis walked in silence, hands brushing every once in a while, sending shocks up Harry's arm with each touch. Louis found a pine cone on the ground and kicked it across the pavement to Harry who kicked it back, much less gracefully than Louis. Louis dribbled it up the sidewalk for a second before kicking it to Harry who tried to catch it with his foot, but instead let it slide into the street. Harry started to go after it, but it was crushed by black tires when silver Hyundai rolled past where the two boys were walking, blasting techno music that was louder than the revving engine. Out of the driver's side window flew an aluminum can, spilling brown liquid all over the clean sidewalk and soaking the boy's shoes.

"Shit," Louis muttered. "These shoes were new..."

Harry was fuming and he stormed after the car, shouting, "Hey!"

"Harry, stop!" Louis shouted, jogging to catch up to the lanky boy.

Harry was in line with the back window, his long legs helping him stay at the same speed of the cruising vehicle. "Hey, assholes! Come back here and pick up your trash! Who the hell do you think you are-"

The driver's window rolled down a fraction, but not enough for Harry to see who it was and the man behind the wheel shouted, "Suck my dick, faggot!"

Harry stopped in his tracks with a gasp as the car sped away, leaving behind a cloud of smoke that left an acidic taste in his mouth. His back was tingling and his entire body was pulled towards the car, but he knew it was an impossible task. He knew what was coming next; it was rare that someone gave him an order that he couldn't follow, but when they did, it was dangerous. A feeling like ripping off a band-aid struck his whole body and he held back a shriek as he stood and absorbed the pain, his eyes squeezed shut, tears escaping periodically. Louis kept a few paces behind, knowing if he touched him it would make it worse; they both had to wait it out, both in agony. After a few minutes, the worst of the pain subsided and Harry swiveled around and came to face an Louis who was looking at him with a worried face, his arm outstretched. Harry brushed past him with a teary huff as he scooped the can from the ground and tossed it in the nearest recycling bin. He wiped his eyes, furiously, trying to clear his mind and breath steadily.

"Harry," Louis placed a gentle hand on the younger boy's bicep. "Talk to me."

Harry sighed, but it came out as more of a light whimper as he glared after the car, his shoulders straining against the thin fabric of his tee-shirt. 

"I hope you weren't kidding when you said you'd help me break this curse," Harry growled and felt his fists clench at his sides. "Because I can't live like this anymore."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! I updated this chapter and changed the story line a bit (oops)  
> Don't kill me please... Anyway, here is chapter 3.  
> Sorry for any typos! Also, sorry it's so short!  
> And major thanks to everyone reading and leaving kudos!! Share this with your friends and comment a bunch, okay? Okay.
> 
> -Lily .x
> 
> (TFIOS reference bc i can)


	4. The Game is Afoot

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Louis is very worried about Daisy, all 5 boys study for exams in two weeks, and Harry starts his research to break his curse.

The blue-eyed boy laid in bed with his hands over his face. He was only wearing loose, black basketball shorts that hung low on his hips, exposing the gray waistband of his boxers. His bare chest was caramel colored in the sunlight and his brown hair looked almost blonde, splayed around his head on the pillow like a crown.  He took a deep breath as he lowered his hands from his face and his blue eyes opened, but they were dull with lack of sleep. There were dark circles under his eyes and a frown on his thin lips as he stared up at the ceiling, his mind racing. He hadn't been in his own bed in over a week and the comfort of it felt foreign after the cold plastic of hospital chairs. It turned out that Daisy had pneumonia, which wasn't severe, but she had to stay in the hospital for a few days because it really drained her. And since Jay was always working, that meant Louis had to stay with her in the hospital.

His phone vibrated on the nightstand next to him and he reached out reluctantly to slide it open.

 

>  
> 
>   **From:**  Hazza 
> 
> Study date? xx

He smiled despite himself, skin crinkling next to his eyes as he typed out a reply and sat up to find a t-shirt.

 

 

> **Sent to:** Hazza
> 
> When and where? 

The reply came instantly.

 

 

> **From:** Hazza
> 
> Now. The park. Meet @ my house! x
> 
> (You forgot the kisses I feel rejected!!) 

The blue-eyed boy's smile spread across his entire face and he took a second to bite his lip and look up at the ceiling before replying. As it sent, he grabbed his backpack from the floor and walked eagerly towards the door, smiling all the way down the street.

 

*~*~*~*

 

 

> **From:**  Loubear x
> 
> On my way.
> 
> (What's the point of virtual kisses?)

Harry sucked in a small breath. It surprised him how deeply just the suggestion of a kiss from Louis affected him. They were most definitely flirting and yet a part of him knew that it was harmless. They'd been flirting since before they knew the definition of the word, but it had never affected Harry like this. With his pulse racing and heat rising in his cheeks. He placed the phone down, abruptly and turned to face the impatient blonde sitting on his bed. Niall was laying with his upper half hanging off the bed and his phone turned sideways, tapping furiously. Suddenly, Niall let out an anguished cry.

"Fuckin twat Simon gave me a fuckin 24 hour photo shoot! Kill me now!" Niall groaned and kicked his feet at the air.

"Niall what-"

Niall cut Harry off, "I'm so fucking close to number 2!!"

Harry sighed, "Niall, what are you talking about?"

"KIM KARDASHIAN," Niall shouted, flailing all four of his limbs in the air. "This game  _ruined my life!!"_

Harry sighed again, louder this time. "And who is number one?"

Niall sat up and looked at his phone with a glare that threatened to throw it in the blender. " _Zayn._ "

Before Harry could answer, the doorbell rang and he practically flew out of the room and down the stairs to the door. He opened it to let in the golden boy who was grinning widely.

"Hey, cockslut," Louis walked in as Harry closed the door and stood on his tip toes to kiss the taller boy on the cheek. 

Harry's smile reached all the way to his eyes when he looked back at Louis who blinked up innocently at him. "I think you owed me two kisses, bubble butt."

Louis rolled his eyes dramatically as he stood on his toes to peck Harry's cheek again. He leaned into the kiss as much as possible without being too obvious that he wanted the moment to last forever. Louis' lips were soft and Harry could feel him smile against his cheek as one of his small hands pushed down on Harry's shoulder for support. As Louis started to pull away, he stumbled a bit and would've fallen had Harry not placed a large on the small of his back to steady him, bringing the two impossibly closer. Louis looked up at Harry through his lashes and the taller boy felt his heart beating faster and faster as Louis rose slowly onto his toes, his face getting closer to Harry's-

"NO, NO STOP!"

Louis and Harry sprang apart at lightening speed, their faces bright red as they looked around the room. There was a moment of confusion as both boys saw that they were still alone, but then Harry remembered Niall and was very tempted to kick the Irish blonde's ass for interrupting. Louis raised a delicate eyebrow and half-smiled at Harry.

"Was that Niall?"

Harry nodded, trying to slow his heartbeat and scratching the back of his neck. "Yeah, he's playing that Kim K game."

"He'll never take my number 2 spot! I worked hard to get there!" Louis exclaimed, sticking his finger in the air with a dramatic flair. He pointed at Harry. "Give me a piggy back ride, slave."

Harry's spine tingled as he, obviously, leaned down and locked his arms around Louis' legs to hold him securely. He carried the demanding boy up the stairs and to his room where Niall was sitting cross-legged on the widow sill couch, his eyebrows furrowed in concentration as he tapped away on his phone. Louis jumped off of Harry's back to sit next to Niall and watch him play, criticizing his every move. Harry, meanwhile, was packing things mindlessly in his bag, his brain racing. Louis' lips had been so close he could feel his warm breath on his mouth and then they were unreachable again. Harry let himself wonder what would've happened if he had just leaned forward a millimeter more and connected their lips like he'd wanted to do since secondary school. Would Louis have pulled away? Or kissed back? Or just stayed frozen until Harry pulled away?

"Louis, you tosser!" 

Harry turned to see Niall punch Louis' shoulder while the other boy laughed triumphantly. "I was on a deadline! And that was my last bit of energy!"

Niall threw his head back and groaned in exasperation while Louis smiled and Harry shook his head, wondering why he loved these boys as much as he did. Both in different ways, of course.

"Well, now that you're done with that," Harry said, hiking the backpack onto his shoulder. "Let's go study."

Loud groans were heard throughout the house as the three boys left.

*~*~*~*

It was a gorgeous summer-y day, with not one cloud to be seen in the sky over the Isle of Man and almost everyone was out enjoying the sun. The three boys were spread out on a grassy patch next to a small but beautiful river that ran under a stone bridge. It was in the richer part of Onchan where Niall and his parents lived, so the boys took advantage of the neatly trimmed grass and the fences keeping out noisy kids with their sticky fingers. A few ducks lazed around the edges of the river cleaning their feathers and Louis was watching them peacefully, laying on his stomach with his chin propped up on his hands. One of the males with a shiny green head glanced over at him and waddled an inch closer. Louis perked up, but that startled the duck and he hopped into the water with a flutter of his wings. Louis huffed angrily and rolled over onto his back, mentally flipping off the mean duck.

"Birds are mean," Louis mumbled aloud.

Harry chuckled and Niall grunted in agreement, but both boys didn't look up from their text books. All three had been studying for over an hour before Louis took a break and now he was extremely bored with the silence. He tried to roll over again, but stopped when he heard the crumpling of paper. There were pages scattered everywhere because somehow everyone's notes had migrated to the opposite side of the blanket, but luckily it was easy to tell the difference between Niall's 5 year-old handwriting, Louis' block lettering, and Harry's loopy cursive. Louis picked up the paper he crumpled, one of Harry's, and skimmed it, lazily. He smiled when he saw that there were words in the margins, random things like "17BLACK" and "Silver Spoon". There were pictures too: a detailed butterfly, a rose, a very impressive drawing of a ship, the Pink Floyd logo, and a million other things. One of the drawings on the back caught his eye. It was two sparrows facing each other, their wings raised as if in flight. One was bigger with wider feathers and its brow was just a straight line over its eye; the other was a bit smaller with a thinner body and its brow was curved elegantly. The birds were circled sloppily, but not sloppily enough that the lines ran over the drawing.

"Haz," Louis sat up, careful not to crush any papers, and poked the studious boy's cheek.

"Hmm?" Harry tilted his head towards Louis, but didn't look up.

"What are these?"

Harry tore his eyes away from the book after marking his page with an embarrassingly girly flower bookmark. He took the page from Louis and studied it with confusion. "Louis, we learned this yesterday.."

"No, not the notes, you giraffe," Louis pointed at the birds. "Those."

Harry's eyes softened visibly as he studied the drawing. "Oh," he bit his lip and smiled, adorably. "It's a tattoo I'm thinking of getting."

Louis raised his eyebrows in surprise. He'd never thought of Harry as the tattoo type, mostly because he'd never really wanted them himself. He tried to picture Harry with the birds on his arm or maybe his shoulder blades. The idea was equal parts hilarious and, if he was being completely honest with himself, kind of hot. He imagined Harry pulling his shirt over his head to show Louis the black sparrows, talking excitedly about how he didn't even cry and how the tattoo artist was so nice.

"I think I'd want them on my collarbones," Harry explained, pulling Louis out of his reverie and tracing his collarbone with a finger.

Louis nodded, "But why sparrows? And why are they different? Wouldn't you want them to be symmetrical?"

"Well, sparrows because they're everywhere here and they make me think of home. And," Harry paused and bit his lip. He pointed to the bigger sparrow, with the straight brow, "That's me." He moved his finger to the smaller one, "And that's you."

Louis couldn't breathe. It felt like all the air had been sucked out of his lungs as he traced the outline of the small sparrow, the outline of  _him_. He looked up at Harry who was smiling shyly, tugging on one of his curls. "Are you serious?" Louis heard himself ask, but his voice sounded raspy like he'd been holding his breath. "You know tattoos are permanent, right?"

Harry laughed, "Yes, I do... What do you think?"

Louis tackled Harry to the ground, wrapping his arms around his shoulders and squeezing tight. Harry laughed in surprise as he fell back and returned the tight embrace with his own arms around Louis' waist, his face pressed against the small boy's cheek. The hug was all awkward elbows and knees in painful places, but they were smiling all the same.

"I love it! Harry, oh my god!" Louis pressed a sloppy kiss to Harry's cheek, making the other boy laugh.

"Ey, get a room! You're crushin' my papers!" Niall pushed the two off of the blanket with a grunt and the boys rolled a couple times before finally stopping at the bank of the river. They landed sprawled out next to each other on their backs and Louis laughed loudly at all the grass in Harry's hair, knowing his probably looked the same. There was a moment of silence where the two just stared at each other with goofy smiles plastered on their faces and grass in uncomfortable places. Louis opened his mouth to say something, but Harry put a long finger to his lips and pointed up, towards the river. Louis shifted his head slightly and saw a group of ducklings scattered around the bank near their heads. A few of them were sleeping and the others were playing n the water, cleaning their feathers and letting the water shake off of them in tiny droplets.

Harry rolled over slowly so he was on his stomach, barely making a sound. Louis copied the movement and settled next to Harry, their bodies aligned perfectly with Louis' toes brushing Harry's ankle. They watched the ducklings in silence until one of them dared to move closer to Harry who brightened up immediately. He reached out a hand slowly and let it rest, palm up, a few inches away from the curious duck. The little duck waddled closer, hesitantly and brushed its beak against Harry's ring finger. Louis turned his head to watch Harry as the duck pecked his hand, curiously. Harry was smiling brightly, his eyes crinkling and his dimples were like craters in the side of his face as he watched the duckling and Louis' heart seized. Harry looked beautiful with his baby pink lips and his green eyes that actually sparkledwhich Louis thought was entirely unfair because eyes weren't  _actually_ supposed to do that. Suddenly, the boy in question pulled his hand quickly away with a small yelp. The duckling jumped away, startled as harry studied his finger which had a small bead of blood sprouting from the skin.

"Ow," he pouted, sucking his finger into his mouth.

Louis smiled, fondly, "I told you! Birds are mean! Especially ducks." Harry raised an eyebrow in question, the corner of his mouth curving up in a smile. Louis smiled back triumphantly, glad that he could cheer Harry up. "It's true," he continued, earnestly. "I mean think about it: they can travel on land, water and in the air! They could take over the world!"

Harry burst out laughing and it was so joyous that Louis found himself laughing along with him. Soon both of them were on their backs in the grass, holding their stomachs from laughing so hard, but neither boy could stop.

The two boys sat there for a while, Louis lying on his stomach with his head on Harry's lap. The younger boy traced shapes lightly on Louis' back with his slim fingers- hearts, stars, something that Louis guessed was supposed to be a tree- and hummed a song that was slow and sweet. Louis closed his eyes and sighed as he identified the shapes that Harry drew in his head, laughing quietly when he spelled out H-I-L-O-U-I-S in block lettering. Harry traced random words, absentmindedly, but after a few minutes he paused and then spelled out slowly: I-L-O-V-E-Y-O-U. Louis rolled on his back to look up at Harry who was biting his lip and blinking down at Louis, his brown curls framing his face. Louis smiled and tugged on one of the unruly hairs, making Harry's eyelids flutter slightly and Louis laughed softly in surprised. Harry looked like he was in heaven as the older boy continued to twist the hair around his smaller fingers and Louis made a note to himself to do this again when they were in a more private area.

As if on cue, the boys heard a small shriek from behind them and Louis sat up to see that Liam and Zayn had arrived and the latter had tackled Niall to the ground and was kissing him like he hadn't seen him in years. 

After that, the five boys studied for about 30 minutes before Louis flicked a strawberry in Niall's hair and thus began an incredibly serious and messy food war to the death.

*~*~*~* 

_curses, Isle of Man, legends_

Harry's long fingers glided over the keyboard with ease as he clicked 'Enter'. Over a thousand suggestions showed up on Google search and he already felt overwhelmed by the variety. He put his face in his hands and let out a deep sigh, weariness hanging over him like a shadow. It was a couple minutes past 1am on Saturday night and he'd spent the whole day with Zayn and Niall taking practice tests provided by the school. Liam had already taken them the week before and Louis skipped out to visit Daisy in the hospital.

"The doctor said she should be able to come home next week," Louis had explained when Harry called him at 11pm, yawning through his words. "He's quite fit actually, her doctor. Can't be more than 30. You should go for him."

Harry had chuckled into the phone and bit his lip. "Big bum?"

Louis snorted, "No where close to mine."

"Well, can't have it then. I prefer curvy men."

Louis had laughed softly and Harry could picture him curling the cord of an old-style 60's phone with his finger as he said, "Don't tease me, Styles."

After saying goodnight, Harry started his research and there he sat for 2 hours, but he had made no progress. There were hundreds of legends, mostly about fairies, and other mystical creatures on the Isle of Man, but he couldn't find anything on curses or what creatures distributed them and why. He dragged his hands down his face and sighed with exhaustion and frustration. 

“I’ll never get out of this curse,” he sighed aloud and was surprised to find a few tears escape his eyes.

His eyes shifted to the picture of him and Louis by the laptop and he smiled, weakly, dragging his fingers across the frame. He’d accepted the fact that he was in love with his best friend a little over 2 years ago, but with that came the crushing knowledge of Louis’ straightness and the unlikeliness of any future with him. There had been instances where he was almost positive that Louis was into him, but almost every time there was something to interrupt whatever moment was happening. Harry traced the frame again before groaning and slamming the laptop closed. He grabbed his hoodie and put on his sneakers, deciding he would take a walk to clear his head of fairies and curses and beautiful blue-eyed boys.

He walked down the street with his headphones blasting The 1975. He was notorious for changing all the “she’s” to “he’s” in every love song to compensate for his preferences.

_ There's only minutes before I drop you off _

_ All we seem to do is talk about sex _

_ He's got a girlfriend anyway _

_ He's got a girlfriend anyway _

He reached the park and was walking along the edge of the lake when he heard a splash. He looked out across the black water and saw a few ripples just beginning to fade out. He stood for a second to maybe catch whatever had disturbed the water, but it was still, so he dismissed it and kept walking along the dirt track. He sang out loudly, and quite well if he did say so himself, adding little dance moves to his performance. He was just getting to the really intense bridge when he faintly heard giggling from somewhere to the right of him. He paused the music and looked around in confusion. To his right was the lake where more ripples had appeared, but no creatures showed themselves.

Harry looked closer to a spot where bubbles were rising to the surface. He crouched down and leaned in, cautiously, trying to get a glimpse at what was moving in the water. Something silvery was getting closer to the top and growing bigger and bigger. Harry scrambled back and fell onto his butt as the silvery thing emerged from the water, splashing his shoes as it--  _ she  _ flipped her lavender hair. The girl was young, maybe even Harry's age, with silver skin that literally shimmered under the street light and dark eyes that were scanning Harry inquisitively. Her purple hair billowed out around her face and fell down her shoulders elegantly, completely dry. Harry sat with his mouth agape, blinking hard and wondering if exhaustion causes hallucinations.

"You have a nice voice," the creature said, her voice was brash and unquestionably British. "Are you a singer?"

"I play piano," Harry monotoned, cautiously adjusting himself so he sat with his legs crisscrossed. "Do you... Know what, that is, do you have-"

"I know what a piano is," she interrupted, narrowing her eyes and pursing her lips. She was beautiful in an eerie way, and floated above the water's' surface with ease, not moving her arms at all. As she drifted closer Harry noticed that she was topless as well and he blushed, trying to focus on the silvery skin of her face rather than her chest. "What's your name?" She asked.

"Harry.. Styles."

"Hello, Harry Styles," she smiled, warmly. "I'm Perrie. No last name, shamefully."

"That's okay," Harry said, quickly, somewhat afraid the creature-or, Perrie-would get upset. "You're like Beyonce."

She smiled, "I'd say that's you, with a voice like that. What brings you out here so late?" She set her elbows on the shore and rested her chin on her hands, cocking her head and smiling warmly again.

Harry shrugged and blushed, "Just clearing my head." He whipped his head up suddenly, with wide eyes that startled Perrie. "Actually, you may be able to help me."

The mermaid looked a little uncomfortable, "Uh, look kiddo, I'm not too great on the whole therapy thing..."

"No, no, it's not like that," Harry shook his head and proceeded to tell her everything about his curse. She listened with intense curiosity, her delicate eyebrows furrowed and bottom lip between her teeth. "And on Google -that's and internet search engine thing, it's like... well that's not important- but it said that it might've been some kind of fairy? I don't know if you know any ? Or about any?? I just don't know what else to- what..."

Perrie's head had shot up from her hands and her eyes widened into two large, shining disks. Harry stopped mid-sentence, startled and a little nervous... maybe he shouldn't have trusted some random creature.

Her lips slowly curled into a smile and she looked up at Harry, beaming.

"I think I know exactly who you're talking about."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I literally just rediscovered this story a few days ago after 2 years and found my outline for how I wanted it to all turn out in the end... And I really want to finish it now lol. We'll see I suppose, I think it'll get more popular when its completed.
> 
> So much angst. And fluff.  
> The Kim K references are all for my friends Katie and Brooke and Abby who loved that game more than life at the time. I never played it though... lol. Does anyone still? Idk.  
> Hope you liked the chapter!  
> Comment, leave kudos, etc. Thank you, lovelies!  
> Lily .x

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you liked it!! This is my first fic on here and I'm actually very nervous!  
> Updates will be every 4 days starting now.  
> Please let me know what you think! Thanks!!
> 
> -Lily .x
> 
> NOTE: The Isle of Man is a real place, however I am not aware of any magical happenings there. (But you never know, right?)  
> Also, some of the placing of houses and parks and such have been and will be altered to make the story easier to understand.


End file.
